Taproban - Posidonian Fields

Year of Release: 2006
Label: Mellow Records
Catalog Number: MMP 488
Format: CD
Total Time: 49:59:00

Looking back at the heydays of the prog genre, Italy has probably delivered a bigger output than the rest of the world joined together. By means of the CD, lots of otherwise obscure and hard to get albums can now easily be traced and enjoyed. The current revival of the genre already has delivered loads of new fantastic bands who no longer suffer from bad English and/or arrangements and/or recordings. With so many artists to chose from and with so many different prog subgenres available, it becomes difficult to fully describe in detail what you can expect. The best you can do is listen to the albums yourselves and if I have to pick one from the huge stack of important releases then for sure Taproban's Posidonian Fields will be on the top of the pile.

In a country that meant the first international breakthrough for Genesis, it's kind of obvious that the acoustic approach still wins hands down, often resulting in material which gets close to vintage Genesis. Backed by glorious Mellotron and a superb Wakeman-like Moog solo, "Entwinings" is part of the second chapter on this album. The whole of the album is made out of three separate chapters which in turn are made up out of shorter sections. The result sounds like a major classical work full of atmosphere and panache. Certain passages such as the lush orchestral "Suspension" is necessary to tie it all together, to make it one big journey through soundscapes and imaginary scenes. What is remarkable about this band is that it only consists of three musicians, yet they deliver a full sound unlike other bands who don't even come near although they have five or six musicians in their line-up!

Inspired by a non returning journey into the subconscious human mind, this concept album brings together all the highlights of the glorious analogue seventies yet combines them into an energetic new work. "Uncontrolled Dreams" is one of the outstanding tracks on this album and fuses Genesis guitar with Yes' Rickenbacker, all held together with authentic Italian symphonic grandeur. It incorporates a slight haze of jazz before erupting into authentic Chris Squire magic! "No Return" sounds a little strange, what with cosmic strings blending together with world music patches. The album closes with kind of a musical box melody in "Farewell" (a hint: there's a hidden piece of folky music right at the very end after a couple of minutes of pure silence so don't be frightened).

If your cup of prog tea needs the aroma of ELP, Nexus and even some Glass Hammer then Taproban has just served you the best cup you have tasted for a long time. For sure a band that has matured album after album for whom nowadays the sky is the limit!

Tracklisting:
Chapter One Immersion: EvapZis (2:46) / Immersion (6:51) / Caronte's Ship Imponderability (3:44) / Chapter Two Suspension: Riding In Posidonian Fields (2:27) / Entwinings (2:12) / Suspension (4:18) / Octopus (6:27) / Chapter Three Oblivion: Uncontrolled Dreams (8:52) / No Return (6:11) / Farewell (including Rebirth) (6:05)

Musicians:
Gianluca De Rossi - keyboards
Davide Guidoni - drums, percussion
Guglielmo Mariotti - bass, guitars, vocals

Discography:
Ogni Pensiero Vola (2002)
Outside Nowhere (2004)
Posidonian Fields (2006)

Inside Outside (2005) (DVD)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: February 20th 2007
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg
Score:
Artist website: www.taproban.com
Hits: 2525
Language: english